All day and I couldn't push myself
out on the street.
I told myself,
"Hey, Basinger, it's just a job.
You take these things
too personally."
But years I've been doing
this Christmas piece,
each year with enthusiasm.
Jed Basinger, bearing witness to...
I mean, it's out there every day.
The human tragedy, the squalor.
The tawdry existence of all those
lonely souls we turn our backs on.
The drunks, the failures.
The neglect
is just more exquisite on Christmas.
A holiday for storekeepers
and for those who've got.
Anyway, it's :
and the daylight's going
and I've got nothing.
Christmas Eve,
everybody goes home early.
Evening, Mr. Basinger.
How's the column coming?
- Struggling, Billy.
- Did you eat?
You think that's why
I got this headache?
Hey, Mr. Basinger.
I don't move
unless I get my three squares.
Bet you ain't had nothing
all day, right?
Hey, do yourself a favour,
Mr. Basinger.
Give yourself a break.
Good old Billy.
Hey, Mr. Basinger.
Don't forget your coat.
It's real raw out there.
Famous guy like you
should treat himself better.
Thank you, Billy.
You don't eat, you don't last.
And what would this paper be
without "Basinger's New York"?
Yeah, the voice of the people.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Basinger.
How's the column look,
Mr. Basinger?
- I haven't finished it yet, Charley.
- Oh, yeah?
Going out to do
some quick shopping?
Nobody to shop for.
Sorry to hear about you
and the missus, Mr. Basinger.
Yeah, well, they carried me home
once too often, Charles.
Hey, Mr. Basinger.
You better sneak out the back.
Your crazies are waiting for you.
What else is new?
Hey, you give them publicity.
Everybody else runs from them
like a plague.
You write them up. They're famous.
I ought to take my picture
off the column.
Evening, Jed.
Do we know each other?
We do now. I'm Jonathan Smith.
- John Smith, unusual.
- I'm Mark Gordon.
Mark. Hello, Mark.
- He is unusual.
- How so?
You see, Jed, I'm an angel.
You too? That's nice.
Taxi.
Well, you impressed him.
Oh, that's cute, real cute.
It seemed a small miracle,
Christmas Eve, to get a cab like that.
But I didn't think much
about it at the time.
You get a cab in New York,
you don't expect to think.
Listen, yes. Think, impossible.
I told the cabbie to take me to Ed's,
a coffee shop on East th.
It was the last thing I got to say
for about minutes.
Anyway, you'd think he'd call.
I mean, wouldn't you?
Who?
The kid. Seven months.
You know,
they got these milk containers.
Who has?
In the stores,
with these kids' pictures on them.
- The missing kids.
- Oh, yeah.
Well, I think
that's a pretty good idea.
Yeah, but they're all little kids.
I mean, at least the ones I've seen.
My kid's .
Your kid?
Fifteen, you're still a kid.
These days, a -year-old
is pretty grown-up.
That's what the cop said.
The cop? What'd your kid do?
Nothing. He's never done nothing.
The cops don't give a damn.
They're all business.
Take his name, your number.
They'll call you if something turns up.
Yeah, well, I mean, there are so many
of those missing kids today.
It's the times.
My wife never leaves the house.
Months now.
In case they should call.
You should see her.
Got old.
Seven months, like ten years.
He could be anywhere.
Chicago, California even.
He could be dead.
What made me say that?
He didn't need to hear that.
What the hell's the matter with me?
Hey, I'm sorry.
No, you're right.
No, I'm not.
I'm not right, I'm not right.
Look, hey, I just--
I had a bad day, I'm sorry.
Yeah.
Here we go, . .
I stuck my hand in my wallet,
grabbed a bill. It was a .
I shoved it in his hand,
jumped out of the cab
and started walking.
Hey, Barney. Barney.
Why didn't I tell him
I'd put the boy's name in the column?
I could have--
I could have put a picture of the kid in,
instead of me.
- Hey, hi, Mr. Basinger.
- Hey, Ed.
Listen, thanks for that mention
in the column.
- You're welcome.
- What'll it be?
What's good?
- I recommend the corned beef.
- All right, on rye and a cream soda.
No, make it a beer.
No, make it a cream soda
and a pickle.
- Let's go to hell with ourselves.
- I hope you don't mean that.
Hey.
Small world, huh?
What'd you do, fly?
Don't answer that.
You sitting there, Mr. Basinger?
Yeah, yeah. Sure.
How'd you know I'd come here?
There are only about , places
I could have gone.
He is an angel, Mr. Basinger.
Of course he is.
- Here's your soda, Mr. Basinger.
- Thanks.
Hey, see this guy here?
He's an angel.
Like I said, Mr. Basinger,
any friend of yours is a friend of mine.
What will you have, fellas?
Tell you what,
why don't you bring some sandwiches
and coffee to the guys outside.
Tell them it was your idea.
Hey, if it was my idea,
I don't need your money.
An act of charity.
But then, you are an angel.
Why, it's not possible?
Let's say it's not probable.
Miracles are never probable.
Miracles?
Guys, please, I'm not buying.
Mr. Basinger, that's why we're here.
I mean, that's why he's here.
Because I don't believe in miracles?
No.
No, it's because
you've lost hope, Jed.
Have I?
Well, haven't you?
What's your Christmas column
gonna be about this year, Jed?
I'm just telling it the way it is.
Jed Basinger's telling them
what it's like in New York
on Christmas Eve?
Yeah, something like that.
What is it like in New York
this Christmas, Jed?
Christmas in New York is great
if you've got the money.
Otherwise...
What about kindness?
Kindness?
Hey, guys, give me a break.
Don't you think there are any
kind people out there, Jed?
There are bums
lying in the street out there.
In New York, people step over them.
They don't even stop.
You mean, no one stops?
Hey, you do it once.
You try to help once.
You know what happens?
The bum's belligerent.
He's freezing to death.
He opens his eyes and he's abusive.
Grateful? Forget about it.
They expect handouts.
They think it's their due.
That's why everybody in New York
is at arm's length.
Ed, all right, boy. Yeah.
Thanks, Ed.
Oh, what a Christmas.
Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you, Burt.
And God bless you, my friend.
God bless you.
All right, all right, all right.
Let me show you New York.
You're an angel, right?
Fine, I'll put you in the column.
I'll call it
"The Education of an Angel."
Kindness, huh?
Goodwill towards men.
The man in the Salvation Army
uniform
pierced the icy cold with the purity
of his playing and his intent.
His cheeks were beet red
and the wind must have been going
right through the thin fabric
of his jacket, fast freezing his ribs.
But he never shivered.
You couldn't help but be touched.
- It's getting colder.
- We'll never get a cab.
- Hey, how you doing, Max?
- Do we know each other?
We've met.
How are Joan and the kids?
- Hey, they're swell, thanks.
- Oh, good, glad to hear it.
- Hey, they're what counts.
- They sure are.
I tell you,
it's a tough night to get a cab.
Oh, you need a cab? No problem.
Thank you, Max.
Merry Christmas to you.
And to you.
Hey, you two. Come on, let's go.
A cop in New York
getting a civilian a cab?
When was the last time
you saw that?
- The shelter, St. Marks in the Bowery.
- You got it.
Barney?
Mr. Basinger. Small world.
Hey, Barney,
I tried to stop you before.
I wanted to get your kid's name,
you know,
and put it in my column
just in case he might see it.
- You know what I mean?
- Hey, that'd be great.
Thanks.
Yeah, it's all right.
Barney's boy has been missing
seven months now.
Barney, this man here is an angel.
Yeah?
I ain't never had an angel
in my cab before.
Don't be so sure.
Tell me about your boy, Barney.
Well, he was always
a good boy growing up.
I mean, marks were up.
Never had any trouble
in school or nothing.
Well, Barney began
telling Jonathan his woes.
But we weren't the only story
taking shape that night.
Not by a long sh*t.
In a hotel room on Park Avenue,
Senator Morton Bourne
and his wife, Clary,
were getting ready to go out
to eat a Christmas dinner,
courtesy of our mayor.
- How do I look?
- Lovely as ever.
Just see that nobody
steals your jewels.
- This is New York.
- You don't have to remind me.
You know how I feel
about New York City.
Yes, I know how you feel
about New York City.
Just don't let the mayor know
how you feel about New York City.
He could be sensitive.
What's a nice man like him
doing in a town like this?
He lives here.
As long as you're gonna live here,
you might as well be mayor.
- I don't wanna go to this party.
- It's a little Christmas dinner.
- For politically-motivated people.
- Of which I am one.
I love you, my darling,
but my heart is not in this evening.
You have no heart, my dear,
so the remark is a redundancy.
My life is a bore.
Christmas
is one of my few pleasures.
And Christmas means home
and our children and my mother.
- And midnight Mass.
- You are a bore.
And this Christmas,
you will spend it with the mayor
of New York and your husband.
And you'll just have to forego Mass.
And hope God isn't looking for you.
Funny, funny.
I'm a little girl from a little town,
I was brought up
on the Christmas story.
I believe in it
and I hate you
for making me go to this party.
Noted.
We're late. How do I look?
Handsome as ever.
I just wanted to tell him
that I love him.
You know?
If he'd just call.
I try to put it out of my mind,
but as the man says,
maybe he's dead.
He's not.
Then where is he?
I don't know.
But I know he's all right.
I believe you.
I don't know why I believe you, but...
Maybe I want to.
But I believe you.
Next block on the right, Barney.
I'll wait for you.
Not the best place to get a cab.
Thank you, Barney.
This is Christmas in New York.
The city's great unwashed,
as someone once said.
These people walk the rim
of the abyss,
a huge black hole with no bottom
where all the unknown, the unwanted,
all the sinking flotsam
and jetsam of our society, fall.
- Hey, Mr. Newspaper Writer.
- Hey, how are you, Ollie?
I waited for you at your office
and you didn't show.
What, did you get thrown
out of your house?
This place is full up.
- What are you gonna do?
- I'm next.
You're next in line for something,
you never could tell
what's gonna happen.
Well, a guy could die here
in the middle of the night, you know.
Or maybe get the DTs, maybe.
And then they take him to the hospital
and I get his bed.
Hey, Mr. Newspaper Man,
you need a bed?
You can take my spot.
No, kiddo, I got a spot.
Don't lose yours. You're next.
Hey, do you want me
to play you a tune?
This wall's got a great sound,
a great tone.
That's tone, you know?
Yeah, that's tone.
Does my smile look real?
Phoney as a $ bill.
Good, I'll blend right in.
You're gorgeous.
If your taste runs to elephants.
Let's eat.
Listen, go easy, will you?
You'll outweigh Brazil.
Senator.
Hello, mayor, good to see you.
And, Mrs. Bourne,
you look lovely this evening.
Yes, don't I?
You got about people
out there on the street.
Tell me about it.
We had to turn away about .
How many beds do you have?
About .
Look, I'll do my best to feed them,
but I've got no place for them.
Mr. Basinger,
you can't give us a rap on this one.
We're trying, the city is trying.
We just can't keep up.
I got a guy sleeping
on my cot back there.
I had to turn away a guy
and his wife tonight.
She's pregnant. I mean, she's due.
No bums, mind you.
He's a carpenter.
He can't get a job.
Joseph somebody-or-other, and--
Are you ready for this? Mary.
You turned away Joseph and Mary?
I hope they left their donkey outside
when they came in.
Oh, this is a story, gentlemen.
This, this you write about.
Joseph and Mary
abroad on Christmas Eve.
Come on, we gotta go find them.
- Where to now?
- Not sure, Barney.
We're looking
for Joseph and Mary with child.
Yeah? Joseph and Mary?
That's right.
And we're the Three Wise Men.
Three Wise Men and an angel.
He's not an angel, Barney.
Are you really sure?
Are you an angel, Jonathan?
Tell me the truth.
Yes, I'm really an angel, Barney.
I believe him.
Christmas Eve, night of miracles.
I believe him.
So we got an angel,
and we're looking
for Joseph and Mary.
Where do you think they'd go?
Where would you look, Barney?
Me? I'd look up.
Yeah, see? There it is.
See that star? That bright one?
Barney, this is ridiculous.
You got a better idea?
That's uptown. I'd look uptown.
That's north.
The Christmas star is in the east.
That was then.
Come on, hop in the cab.
What have we got to lose?
So we headed uptown,
following a star,
if you can believe that.
While somewhere in the city,
a guy named Joseph
and his pregnant wife, Mary,
were trying to get in out of the cold.
We only have $ left.
I want you to go inside, Mary.
- Not without you.
- I'll be all right.
You've gotta get in out of this cold.
I don't wanna be without you.
All right, look, I'll--
I'll beg some money,
and I'll meet you inside.
No, Joseph, I wanna be with you.
I'm afraid.
All right. All right, come on.
Tickets, please.
We only have enough for one ticket.
My wife is pregnant.
Is there a problem?
Yes. Are you the manager?
Yes, I'm the manager.
Well, sir, my wife here is pregnant,
and she needs to sit down for a while.
We don't have enough for two tickets.
We can only buy one.
But we wouldn't go inside.
We just wanna sit in the lobby.
You need a place to go,
go to a mission.
Oh, we tried that,
but they're all full.
That's not my problem.
Couldn't we stay
just for a little while, please?
No way.
Word gets around,
this lobby will be full of bums.
- I am not a bum. I have--
- Joseph, let's go, please.
This world is full of weirdoes.
Cindy, give me two cups of coffee
and a couple of candy bars, will you?
- For those two?
- Yeah, they look hungry.
What harm would it have done
letting them sit for a while?
You don't know
how lucky you are sometimes.
You're telling me.
I've been crying the blues
because my stereo got ripped off.
You two, here.
It's not much, but, here.
- Thank you.
- No, don't thank me.
If I managed this place,
you'd be inside now.
Good luck.
Here, Mary, it's hot.
Joseph, we have to find a place.
- I have to sit down.
- All right.
We will. We will.
And while Mary and Joseph search
the streets for a room at the inn.
The Three Wise Men
and the so-called angel
continue their search
for Mary and Joseph.
Nobody has to starve in this city.
They're not doing it out of choice.
It's a matter of education.
People don't starve
for lack of education.
They starve for lack of food.
Clary, there's plenty of food.
Yes, and there's plenty of housing.
But you have to have money
to get into any of it.
There are shelters all over this city.
And hospitals.
You live in another world,
Mort, my friend.
There are desperately ill
people out there
who are barred from them,
who die on their doorsteps.
Do you know how many people
will not see the sun tomorrow morning
who might have
with federal funding?
No. Do you?
No. Because there are no figures.
How do you collect figures on people
who live in doorways, on subways,
who wait at the back of restaurants
for their garbage like flies--
Gentlemen, mayor, would you mind
going to a neutral corner?
We'd love to continue
this conversation,
but my water broke.
Oh, do you need a napkin?
Hardly. I need a doctor.
Shall we go, darling?
Meanwhile,
the star-following contingent
had been crisscrossing the city,
working its way northward,
letting the cabbie
call the sh*ts in the dark.
And getting nowhere,
which is, naturally,
what I had expected.
- Haven't seen them.
- I must be crazy.
I got a column to write.
Where is the celestial one?
He's in there, in the church.
- Talking to his boss, no doubt.
- Here he comes.
Well, what's the word from on high?
The baby hasn't been born yet.
- He told you that, huh?
- Yes, he did.
He's an angel.
And Mom and Dad, where are they?
- We'll find them.
- We will.
Well, we have Joseph and Mary,
three men following a star,
an angel, and now the Lord himself.
We have all the characters.
All we need now is a bed of straw
surrounded by animals.
You're right.
- Come on, let's go.
- Where? Go where?
Just get in the cab.
Basinger, you can't write this.
The First Noel
The angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds
In fields as they lay
In fields where they
Lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night
That was so deep
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
They looked up...
Well, Barney, where are they?
I was hoping.
Oh, yes.
Faith, hope and charity.
Three words bordering on extinction.
Have you come in search
of Mary and Joseph?
Yeah.
Praise the Lord.
They are there.
He's pointing at statues.
Are you guys crazy too?
Mr. Basinger, they're here.
The minute we left the park,
the traffic closed in on us.
Like it always does
when you're in a hurry.
Come on, come on, drive, will you?
Hey, I'm doing my best.
Thank you all so much.
She looks pale.
I'm all right.
Sure you are.
Great. Just great.
Will you look at that?
Just what we needed.
Well, Mr. Angel, if you happen to have
a spare miracle right about now,
the lady could use it.
Hey, where are you going?
Hey, Burt. Burt, you remember me?
Oh, you bet, glad to see you again.
Listen, I got a woman in that cab
who's having a baby.
Think you could get
that bus out of the way?
You bet. Come on, guys.
Come on.
I've got Bourne in the car,
and his wife's about to have a baby.
- Get in the bus and steer.
- What are you doing?
What are you standing there for?
Get in the bus and steer.
Keep pushing.
Attaway to go, boys.
Keep pushing. Keep pushing.
Attaway to go, boys.
I told you, Barney, he's an angel.
You'll be all right, dear.
That poor mayor.
"Do you need a napkin?"
Look, a bunch of bums
are moving the bus.
Hold on, dear.
How's it look?
Radiator's gone,
and the wheel's bent.
Officer.
Officer, we need your help.
I'm Senator Bourne.
My car has just been hit by that bus.
My wife is about to give birth.
We need to get to Mercy Hospital.
Hey, it's a small world, senator.
How you doing, Max?
Hey, what are you doing here?
Same thing as the senator, trying to
get a pregnant woman to the hospital.
Why don't you get your wife?
We got a cab right over there.
Thank you, thank you.
I'll lead the way.
Thank you, Max,
and merry Christmas.
- Hey, Burt.
- Yeah?
Do me a favour?
Can you block traffic for me?
Our pleasure, and merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas
and God bless you, Burt.
Okay, come on, here.
Let's block this traffic.
Line up here.
That's it.
I don't believe it.
Another pregnant woman.
And a merry Christmas to you too.
With my angel's policeman pal
leading the way,
the trip to the hospital
was a breeze.
But gaining admittance
was another story.
I'm sorry,
if you do not have insurance,
there is nothing I can do.
What? This is ridiculous.
Sir, my wife is in labour.
- Sir, sir, if you don't mind, my wife is--
- Morton, please.
This woman's contractions
are much closer together than mine.
You're not gonna admit
this woman?
She belongs in County.
I'll get work, I'm a carpenter.
I'll pay back every dime.
Now see here, I demand attention.
This is an emergency.
You are shouting. This is a hospital.
This is outrageous.
This is Christmas Eve.
This is Joseph and Mary.
I don't care
if they're Abbott and Costello.
If they don't have insurance,
they do not get in.
- Let her in, I'll pay her hospital bill.
- No, you won't.
Young man, I'm the wife
of a United States senator,
and I am going to have a baby.
I assure you, we'll take care of you.
I assure you, you will not.
If you will not have the humanity
to let this poor woman
in your hospital on Christmas Eve,
I will have this baby
on this floor right in front of you.
And Mr. Basinger will make sure
it's in the morning paper.
Basinger?
The one and only.
I'm a little behind here.
"This is Joseph and Mary.
I don't care
if they're Abbott and Costello."
That's terrific.
You're really quite a wit, Mr...?
Pilot.
Pilot. Oh, this is...
I'll get you both upstairs
in just a minute.
As befits the situation,
Joseph and Mary had a son.
The first to be born in our town
Christmas morning.
To further commemorate
the occasion,
a man, said to be an angel,
bore witness.
A shining few hours.
I wish I could have told it.
Why can't you?
No, it's long, long after deadline.
Oh, come on, Jed,
this is a night of miracles.
A night of wonder, certainly.
Coincidence,
straining credulity, absolutely.
But, Jonathan, please, miracles?
My God.
My son. My son.
You know,
the world started with a very few.
It still just takes a few to change it.
One voice of hope.
Your voice, Jed.
Go on, write your story.
Jonathan, I told you, it's too late.
It's never too late, Jed.
Now, go on.
Charley. Charley.
Come on, open up.
Mr. Basinger. What?
- Where have you been?
- It's too late, right?
No. Haven't you heard?
The presses
have been down all evening.
They're going crazy back there.
I bet you got an hour.
What are you waiting for?
Go ahead.
Two thousand years ago,
a child was born.
Another was born tonight.
Copy.
Copyboy.
Hey, Mr. Basinger.
You better go out the back way.
There's a nut out front
who's sure he's Santa Claus.
Really?
Don't be too sure he isn't.
Merry Christmas, Charley.
Merry Christmas to you.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.